Remote Sensing of Air-Wave-Sea Interactions and Upper Ocean Dynamics
Research uses remote sensing to study how air, waves, and the sea interact, impacting upper ocean dynamics and turbulent mixing at various scales.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
NRC Research Associateship Programs has archived this opportunity.
Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: May 1, 2025 (Application Deadline)
Funding Amounts: $99,200 stipend plus $3,000 travel allowance; typical postdoctoral fellowship duration 2-3 years
Summary: Postdoctoral fellowship for research on remote sensing of air-wave-sea interactions and upper ocean turbulent mixing to improve ocean-atmosphere modeling and forecasting.
Key Information: Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents; research conducted at Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC; requires contacting Research Adviser prior to applying.
Description
This postdoctoral research opportunity at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) focuses on the remote sensing and study of air-wave-sea interactions and upper ocean dynamics, particularly turbulent mixing processes in the ocean surface mixed layer. The mixed layer plays a critical role in exchanging heat, mass, and momentum between the atmosphere and ocean interior and supports most oceanic primary productivity, influencing the earth system's evolution.
The research is primarily observational but also includes numerical and theoretical process studies and parameterization development. It covers a wide range of turbulent processes from very small-scale wind-driven boundary layer turbulence (~1 cm), convective or Langmuir turbulence (~100 m), to submesoscale turbulence and frontal instabilities (~10 km). Air-wave-sea interaction processes are of special interest both as drivers of upper ocean mixing and for improving coupling between atmospheric and oceanic models.
Postdoctoral investigators typically participate in future field experiments or analyze data from past experiments collected via remote sensing platforms (satellites, aircraft, drones) or in-situ instruments (research vessels, moorings, drifters, autonomous vehicles). Laboratory experiments in wind-wave tunnels may also be involved. The ultimate goal is to enhance operational atmospheric and oceanic forecast models used by the U.S. Navy, such as NAVGEM, COAMPS, WAVEWATCH III, NCOM, and HYCOM.
Key Research Topics
- Air-Sea Interactions
- Wind and Breaking Waves
- Ocean Mixed Layer Dynamics
- Ocean Fronts and Submesoscale Eddies
- Turbulent Mixing Processes at Multiple Scales
References for Context
- Savelyev et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans (2022, 2020)
- Savelyev et al., Geophysical Research Letters (2018)
